‘Gay’ penguin couple, Buddy and Pedro, to be separated at Toronto Zoo to mate with females

By ALIYAH SHAHID

|NEW YORK DAILY NEWS|

Nov 09, 2011 | 10:08 AM

African Penguins Buddy, left, and Pedro, right, are seen at the Toronto Zoo. The duo have begun a budding romance, but will be separated this week so they can mate with their female counterparts. (Rene Johnston/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Even love can't keep a "gay" penguin couple together.

Two male penguins who have developed a budding romance at a Canadian zoo will be separated so they can mate and breed with their female counterparts.

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Zoo officials told the Toronto Star that Buddy, 21, and Pedro, 10, were spotted engaging in courtship and mating behavior similar to those of female and male penguins.

The romantic gestures include sleeping together every night, defending their territory, making mating calls and constantly standing alone together.

The two African penguins were both raised in captivity in Toledo, Ohio, and recently began to pair off at the Toronto Zoo when they arrived for a penguin exhibit that opened in May.

Zoo officials want the two lovebirds to mate with females because their species is rare.

"It's a complicated issue, but they seem to be in a loving relationship of some sort," Joe Torzsok, Toronto Zoo board chairman told the newspaper.

"Two girls have been following them; we just have to get the boys interested in looking at them," Tom Mason, the zoo's curator of birds, told the National Post.

While the words gay or straight aren't typically used to describe the penguins' mating behavior, their sexuality has become the most buzzed-about issue at the zoo.

"This is all new for us," a zookeeper told the Toronto Star.

It's not the first time a two male penguins have made headlines. In 2004, Roy and Silo, two Chinstrap Penguins, garnered lots of attention when they exhibited similar behavior at the Central Park Zoo. The duo was offered an abandoned egg, which they hatched and raised together.

The good news for Perdo and Buddy is they won't be apart for too long. They'll be reunited after mating with the female penguins.